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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26957779">The Marvelous Marriage</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_elf4/pseuds/she_elf4'>she_elf4</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Khan Files [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arranged Marriage, Crack Treated Seriously, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multicultural Marriage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:00:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26957779</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_elf4/pseuds/she_elf4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Overhearing Marcus's plans to railroad Khan and his people, Kirk steps in and accidentally affiances himself to his archnemesis. Khan, not one to miss any opportunity to needle his hated rival, insists on a large, formal wedding. Cue intense planning. One month later, the big day arrives. Have the one-time enemies come to understand, or even (gasp) CARE about each other?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James T. Kirk/Khan Noonien Singh</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Khan Files [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958935</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Trektober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Marvelous Marriage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerridwen/gifts">Cerridwen</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This fic was inspired by Cerridwen's "A Meta on Space Seed in Star Trek." I hope everyone checks it out, it's a fascinating read. Also, I meant to expand on a couple of scenes that are currently just sketched in via infodump, but my ADD has officially moved on and I can't concentrate for the life of me and trying to force it is just making things worse. Therefore, I am posting it anyway, and I hope you enjoy it in spite of this. I do intend to expand on those two scenes, but it's just not happening right now. I'm going to have to wait until my brain catches up with me. One last thing, I have done my best to accurately portray both Jewish and Hindu traditions, but I am new to them both. If I need to update or change something, just let me know!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jim sighed in irritation. How had he gotten into this mess, anyway? He took a big swig of his drink and tried, once again, to explain. "Look, I'm not saying he shouldn't be punished for what he did, but none of the rest of them are guilty of anything. If we let them go, Khan may be willing to do whatever experiments we want him to."</p><p>"And how, exactly, are we supposed to keep them from attacking us?" Marcus demanded, looking at Jim like he was an idiot.</p><p>"They follow Khan's lead, it's Khan we have to convince." Jim sighed, vaguely noticing Christopher Pike wandering over to join them. "I dunno, is he related to any modern humans? He seems to be family oriented." He gave a laugh. "It's too bad that arranged political marriages are a thing of the past."</p><p>Marcus looked smug. "Why, that's an excellent suggestion, Captain, thank you! It's so kind and upstanding of you to offer yourself up for this arrangement!" </p><p>Jim was confused for a moment, then suddenly realised what Marcus was saying. He couldn't even curse or complain, or Khan's people would pay the price. He found himself thinking, 'Well, I guess it's for the best that Spock ditched me. Looks like I'm affianced, too.' Instead of voicing this thought he said with a devil-may-care smile of his own, "As long as all his people are guaranteed citizenship, I'm all for it!"</p><p>"It really isn't a bad idea, at that," Chris commented, subtly backing Jim up.</p><p>A brief look of rage passed Marcus' face but he said, "All right, agreed. As long as you can keep Khan under control. Can you do that?"</p><p>"Absolutely," Jim said with much more bravado than he felt. By this time, a small crowd, sans Spock, had begun to gather around them.</p><p>Marcus nodded with finality. "All right, it's settled then. You and Khan will be married, and his people are guaranteed citizenship as long as he minds his manners. Come down to Starfleet Headquarters tomorrow at 1200. We'll inform Khan of this new development." With that he stalked off. </p><p>Jim scowled after him. Of course Marcus would foist off telling Khan about this onto him, as if this were actually his idea. Marcus knew damn well he'd been talking out of his ass and thought he'd be able to make Kirk back off. Kirk wasn't sure whether to hope the augment went for it or not. On the one hand, his people didn't deserve to be punished for something they didn't do. On the other hand, Jim wasn't too fond of Khan, hadn't been since he'd nearly killed Chris, and he would be giving up on Spock forever.<br/>___</p><p>Jim approached Marcus's office to see Khan already standing outside of it, glaring at him. "Marcus said you had a proposal for me."</p><p>"Yea, you could say that," Jim said, holding back a groan at the unintended pun. He took a deep breath. "Marcus and I came to an agreement. Your people will be woken up and granted full citizenship, and in return..." Jim heaved another sigh. "The two of us would be married and you would participate in scientific research on board the Enterprise." There. He'd said it, as best he could.</p><p>"A political marriage, then." Khan eyed Jim, the anger in his eyes replaced with interest. "Who's idea was this?"</p><p>"I don't know," Jim said with a huff. "I made a comment about it and Marcus jumped on it. I think he hoped I'd balk and back down, but I just went with it and he had no choice but to agree since he'd already gone on about what a great idea it was and how kind I was to offer. Look, let's just get this over with." Jim started back towards Marcus's office, trying not to notice the amusement on Khan's face.</p><p>"Well, what's the verdict? Do you agree?" Marcus asked with a frown.</p><p>"Yes. Although, if it's going to be a political marriage, we should do it properly, in full ceremony. Improve morale and all that. It would also show your enemies you have strong, wealthy allies," Khan said with a light smile. Both Marcus and Jim scowled at him and his expression grew smug. "Come now, gentlemen, we're doing this for the benefit of the Federation. The best way to do this is to give a display of wealth and power for your enemies to admire."</p><p>Marcus gave him a baleful glare. "Alright, then. How do we do this?"</p><p>"Mostly, it involves an extremely formal marriage ceremony and banquet, attended by the various ambassadors and heads of state of our allies and main rivals. It partly depends on who's religion we're using, of course," Khan answered, then looked at Jim.</p><p>"I don't really care. My family is Jewish, but I'm not particularly religious. I guess we could come up with a hybrid ceremony that uses a mix?" Jim suggested.</p><p>"That would be fine," Khan said. They all sat down, intent on planning the ceremony.<br/>___</p><p>One month later, the day of the ceremony had finally arrived. It was also the day all the Augments would be delivered to the Enterprise. Jim had tried to argue this point, as they were supposed to be free, private citizens and not part of Khan's required service, but Khan had shushed him, quietly telling him that Marcus likely wouldn't actually release them any other way. After the transfer, the ceremony itself would happen in two parts: a traditional Jewish betrothal ceremony would take place this morning at Starfleet Headquarters, just after the transfer, and a Hindu wedding ceremony would take place in Jaipur, outside Khan's former estate. A reception would take place on board the Enterprise afterwards. His crew had sportingly agreed to deck out the largest rec room on the ship for the occasion.</p><p>Jim forced himself to get up and shower. The hot spray helped to wake him up. He'd been run ragged over the past month with preparations: in addition to the wedding itself, negotiating the Jewish-style marriage contract had been particularly harrowing. Most of it hadn't actually been between him and Khan, but rather, between Khan and Marcus. Jim had only really been present to make sure Marcus didn't pull anything. Marcus had, of course, and Jim hadn't been able to stop him. The resulting contract--Jim refused to call it a proper ketubah--made it clear that Khan was little more than a slave to Jim. Seeing Khan calmly accept the horrendous terms impressed Jim, and told him just how desperate Khan was. Jim, however, was still angry about it, even though he wasn't particularly religious; Marcus had turned one of his people's traditions into a political farce. Marcus hadn't even bothered consulting a Rabbi, he'd simply used a computer program to do all the translating and the text. The document itself was replicated. Jim dreaded seeing the Rabbi's reaction to it. </p><p>Starting with that, Jim was forced to see Marcus as Khan likely saw him: petty, controlling, with very little morality. More and more, he was beginning to resemble Kodos. This thought scared Jim to the core. He shivered, in spite of the hot water. This also threw Khan, and Jim's own actions, into a completely different light. Khan had been every bit as desperate to save his family as Jim had once been. And Jim, ultimately, had inadvertently helped another Kodos. Jim fervently hoped that this farce of a wedding, in some small way, made up for his mistakes. </p><p>Once he'd finished in the shower, Jim had to force himself to leave the shower and put on his white three-piece suit. He almost ordered a coffee from the replicator out of habit, but remembered that no, Hindu tradition dictated that he fast the day of the wedding. Of course, Khan wouldn't know the difference, but still. With that, Jim was ready. He forced down the unease in his gut as he rushed down to the transporter room to oversee the transfer of the Augments. He found Scotty standing by. </p><p>"Hey, Scotty, everything ready?" he asked with a carefree grin.</p><p>"Aye, as ready as they'll ever be. Got cold feet yet?" Scotty returned with a grin of his own.</p><p>"Hey, I'm a Kirk, and Kirks don't back down!" Scotty just shook his head with a quiet laugh.</p><p>"They've signaled they're ready whenever we are," Scotty said. He bent down at his controls. "They'll beam directly to sickbay, just like ye said."</p><p>Jim nodded. "Energize." A few pushed buttons later, and Jim was headed down to sickbay to check on the cryotubes. "How is everything going here?"</p><p>"Just fine, Jim. We're in the process of waking everyone up now. We have Khan's message ready to go," Leonard said with a scowl as he tripped over one of the cryotubes.</p><p>"Great," Jim said. He tried not to fidget as he waited for Khan's people to wake up. Just then, one of the men began to stir. Kirk rushed over, hopping over several open tubes. "Hey, welcome back. Just sit tight, everyone's waking up now, I have a message for you all from Khan."</p><p>"Where are we? How long have we slept?" the man asked.</p><p>"You're on board a spaceship called the Enterprise. Don't worry, Khan's message will explain everything." The next few minutes were hectic, repeating almost the same conversation seventy-one more times, desperately trying to keep anyone from panicking and attacking any Starfleet personnel. Finally, everyone was awake. "Alright, everyone listen. I have a message from Khan, I'm going to go ahead and play it for you," Jim shouted to make sure he was heard. With that he nodded to Leonard.</p><p>A second later, Khan's image appeared on a large screen. He started off in a language Jim didn't recognise and didn't bother to use his translator on. Jim tuned it out, going over the enormous amount of things left to do. He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of children crying. One of the Augments was trying to quiet them, but Jim walked over anyway. "Hey, hey, what's the matter?" he asked.</p><p>The children, a little boy and girl with dark hair, didn't make any sense through their tears, so one of the older Augments said, "They want to see their dad. They don't understand why they can't see him now, I mean, how do you explain to five-year-olds?" The man sounded harried. Jim noticed it was the one he'd first spoken to. He and Jim hugged the children for a moment, until they began to wear themselves out.</p><p>Suddenly, Jim had an idea and commed Khan. When Khan answered, he asked, "Hey, do you have a moment?" </p><p>"Yes, why?" Khan's voice got the children's attention, and they started chattering excitedly in an unfamiliar language as Jim held the communicator for them. After a few minutes, Jim cut them off.</p><p>"Alright, I need to get going, but you'll see him at dinner tonight, I promise." With a quick wave, he was off to the transporter room once more. He shot a smile at Scotty. "Alright, Mr. Scott, one to beam down."</p><p>"Aye, sir, and the rest of the bridge crew will be down shortly." With that, the Enterprise disappeared in a beam of light. When it dissipated, he saw the smiling face of one of his own unofficially-adopted kids, Kevin Riley, outside the main entrance to Starfleet Headquarters. Jim gave him a rather tired smile of his own.</p><p>"Hey, what's wrong?" Kevin asked, the smile replaced with a look of concern.</p><p>"Oh, nothing, just tired. It looks like I'm about to acquire two more children," Jim all but whispered to Kevin.</p><p>"I call dibs on babysitting," Kevin whispered back as he led Jim to the gaggle of ambassadors and dignitaries. Jim fought down a laugh.</p><p>"Did anyone else from our group make it?" Jim asked, referring to the group of kids he'd played Mr. Mom to on Tarsus IV.</p><p>"No, but your brother did." Kevin gestured over to where George Kirk Jr. stood, carrying a small box. Jim walked over with a smile, and they greeted each other with hugs.</p><p>"Hey, I had this box left over from our aunt and uncle's wedding, I didn't know if you wanted any of it? Starfleet sent it from Tarsus a few years back. Sorry I couldn't bring it by earlier, I couldn't get off in time," George said. He set the box on the ground and opened it. </p><p>Jim rifled through the box, seeing the remnants of an old chuppah canopy, a photo album, and other various things. "Lets see, the actual marriage ceremony will be Hindu, so the chuppah will be a Hindu-style gazebo-type thing. The decorations are already taken care of. I'd like to keep the album, but..." he trailed off as he ran across his aunt and uncles' ketubah, a proper one, decorated and placed in a fancy gold frame. Jim read through it and smiled. In addition to the usual food, clothing, and shelter stipulations, it detailed spending time together, helping, supporting, and protecting each other, and the only mention of conjugal duties made was simply fidelity. In fact, it was a lot closer to what Jim had actually wanted his own ketubah to be. He knew it wasn't at all proper to reuse an old ketubah, however, under the circumstances...he held it out to George. "Uh, could you tell the Rabbi to use this text for the reading of the ketubah?" Seeing George's face, he added, "Don't ask."</p><p>"Sure thing, Jim." George tucked the frame under his jacket before packing the box back up and going to find the Rabbi.</p><p>Just then, Jim saw Chris approaching. "Jim, there you are. All the ambassadors are here, they're waiting for you!" He ushered Jim into Starfleet Headquarters. The next half an hour was spent greeting the various dignitaries, thanking them for their attendance. He could see Khan at the other end of the hall, wearing a similar white three-piece suit. He was talking to the Romulan delegation. Jim was still surprised at their attendance, he hadn't actually expected the Romulan or Klingon governments to respond to the invitation. The Romulans' and Klingons' inclusion was a large part of the reason for the main ceremony being Hindu; it gave a lot more room for the kind of military displays Khan had thought necessary. </p><p>Marcus, of course, had eaten that part up. From the groom's traditional Baraat procession in the latest style of armored shuttle craft, to the supposedly-joking show of strength between his and Khan's familial stand-ins and the "entertainment" for the reception in the form of both feats of skill and strength from hired performers and synchronized shuttle flights by Starfleet personnel, the whole thing was a show of their military prowess. The Federation's wealth was shown off in the sheer vulgarity of expense paid in the decorations and venues: Khan's palace had been fully restored for the wedding ceremony, as had the visible portion of large parts of San Francisco. The finest cloth and rarest flowers in the entire Federation were used for the wedding decor. Almost everything solid, from the plates and flatware to the pillars on the raised platform, was covered in gold in some way. In short, it was nothing short of a royal wedding. Jim was bowled over by the sheer ostentatiousness of it. </p><p>Just then, Jim heard a jovial voice saying, "Captain Kirk, you old Denibrian slime devil, you never told me you had such an influential intended." Jim turned to see Captain Koloth, the Klingon representative and stifled a groan. </p><p>"I didn't, the last time we fought each other. Whirlwind romance, you know how these things go," Jim answered with as much cheer as he could muster. </p><p>"Fought each other? Why, you make it sound as if we were enemies! Our governments aren't at war!" The next few minutes were spent trading insults with Koloth, until he saw Marcus headed for him. He excused himself and went over.</p><p>"Where is the Rabbi? The ceremony is supposed to start in ten minutes!" Marcus hissed with an angry glare.</p><p>"I think he's taking care of some last minute details, he'll be here soon," Jim said, hoping Marcus wouldn't press. With that, he dove back into the gaggle of dignitaries, dodging Marcus every time he tried to catch up. </p><p>Another half hour later, the Rabbi finally arrived, carrying a large paper with him. He shot Marcus the iciest glare that Jim had ever seen. Before Marcus had a chance to ask what had kept him, he shot out, "You! You should have consulted me about the ketubah! What you gave me was an insult!"</p><p>"You will use the one I gave you, or I will find a Rabbi who will!" Marcus hissed. Once more, Jim saw Chris wandering over nonchalantly, along with Khan.</p><p>"You will not find a single Rabbi, or any other Jewish person, in the galaxy who would use it! It is a travesty! Our people will not turn one spouse into a slave in God's name, in Moses' name! Lucky for you, I was able to sort it out in such a short time!" The Rabbi stalked off, leaving Marcus sputtering. Jim's moment of giddy relief was short lived as he realised that Khan was watching him with interest.</p><p>Marcus made to go after the Rabbi, but Chris stopped him. "You really should have consulted a Rabbi, or at least listened to Jim. He isn't actually trying to sabotage you, you know. He's trying to help you, and the Federation." </p><p>"We'll see," Marcus shot out before ushering everyone into the hall.</p><p>Jim and Khan joined the Rabbi at the front of the hall, which was draped with exotic flowers arranged in a rainbow of colors and fine white silk. Once the guests had found their places, the Rabbi began the benediction. As the Rabbi continued his part of the ceremony, Jim's mind was whirling with anxiety. He took a breath to steady himself, reminding himself that Khan's family was already awake and safe on the Enterprise. As safe as Jim could make them, anyway. He snapped back to attention as the Rabbi recited, "Blessed art Thou, oh Lord, who sanctifiest Thy people Israel through Chuppah and Kiddushin." </p><p>Recognising his cue, Jim took out his ring. It used to belong to his uncle, it had been the only thing of his that Jim had had after the massacre. He pushed that out of his mind and recited, "Be thou betrothed unto me with this ring, according to the laws of Moses and Israel." He slipped the ring onto Khan's finger.</p><p>Khan took out his own ring and repeated the recitation, slipping it onto Jim's hand. It was a simple gold ring made of twisted wire and had a hand-made look. Jim shot Khan a curious look, and Khan just smiled. Jim didn't have any more time to think about it, as the Rabbi began reading the ketubah. Taking a peek at the paper, Jim allowed himself a small smile of triumph. It was an exact copy of his uncle and aunt's old ketubah, hastily rewritten by hand. The Rabbi had even found a border to put it in, floral from what Jim could see. Once it was read and signed by the witnesses, Jim and Khan finally got to hold it. It wasn't quite as perfect as it was technically supposed to be, the words were in simple pen instead of proper calligraphy. However, to Jim, it was beautiful, more beautiful than Marcus's piece of trash could ever hope to be. </p><p>A few pictures later, it was back up to the Enterprise to prepare for the Hindu part of the wedding. A quick hug and thanks to the Rabbi and Jim was off. He rushed from the transporter room back to his quarters, Sam and Leonard trailing behind him. As soon as the doors closed he stripped the suit off, throwing it in a heap across a chair. Sam clucked at him. "Jim, seriously? This is Andorian silk! It's expensive! You don't throw it around!" He put it on a hanger.</p><p>Jim rolled his eyes as he took out his Hindu wedding outfit. "You take care of it, then. I have too much to do already. How the hell do you put this thing on?" He looked at the outfit for a moment, consisting of ankle-length leggings made from light gold silk, some kind of under-tunic made of darker gold silk, and a knee-length white jacket with intricate gold embroidery. It came complete with some kind of dark gold scarf-wrap, the fanciest pair of shoes Jim had ever seen, a long gold and pearl necklace, and a jeweled turban colored the same as the jacket.</p><p>"Well, I'm pretty sure the pants go on first," Leonard drawled, and Jim shot him a glare as Sam snickered.</p><p>"Ha, ha. Seriously, though, who uses buttons anymore?" With another quiet grumble, he shooed the other two out and set to work donning the intricate outfit. </p><p>Half an hour later, Jim was finally strapping himself into the seat of the shuttlecraft that would take him to the wedding venue. Scotty, having been waiting, gave him a good once-over and a low whistle. "That's some mighty fancy threads you've got there, lad."</p><p>"No kidding. I feel like a damn peacock," Jim muttered. He held a leg up for Scotty's consideration. "And have you seen these shoes? Even Uhura doesn't have shoes this fancy." Scotty laughed and started up the shuttle. </p><p>A few minutes later, they were landing outside Khan's former estate. The roof line gleamed with fresh gold leaf and Jim had to shield his eyes as he stepped out. Squinting around, Jim was surprised at how many people there were: Starfleet personnel, foreign dignitaries, of course, but there were also just swamps of locals, all jockeying for a look. As Khan's familial representatives escorted Jim to the raised platform where the ceremony would take place, Jim had a good look around. If possible, this venue looked even fancier than Starfleet Headquarters had. In addition to the exotic flowers and fabric, it had statues to various local gods, upholstered chairs for guests, and a pillar at each corner of the platform, all gleaming with gold. The platform had two more fancy chairs and a small fire bowl on a low, carved marble table. The intricately painted palace with the golden roof just added the final touch. Jim briefly wished he'd thought to bring sunglasses. All this was accompanied by upbeat local music from a live band. </p><p>With one final detail, a dot on his forehead, Jim was finally directed to the platform. Setting his fancy shoes aside, he stepped up and listened to the priest recite a prayer to a local god. Jim didn't listen too closely; all the sights and sounds, the lack of breakfast, was beginning to make him lightheaded. Finally, Khan's procession reached the platform. They each placed a flower garland around the other's neck, Khan with a small smile to Jim. Jim's heart gave a flutter. Jim couldn't help but notice how regal Khan looked, in garb similar to Jim's but red instead of white. With that, Chris came up and placed Khan's hand in his, acting as Khan's familial stand-in. Marcus had tried to claim the role, but Jim had flat refused. No way was that man getting any more control of this thing.</p><p>Finally, the ceremony proper got under way. Jim and Khan sat down and the fire was lit in the bowl, more prayers were recited, offerings were sprinkled through their hands into the fire. More prayers, this time recited by Jim and Khan, more offerings while circling the fire. Jim almost felt like him and Khan were dancing. Finally, their scarves were tied together and the heart of the ritual, the Seven Steps, started. </p><p>Jim went through the Hindu wedding vows, circling the fire with Khan. Jim realized, as he stared at Khan, that he'd come to love the Augment over the past month. The words were prescribed, foreign. But the feeling behind them was real. He hoped these rehearsed lines told Khan, in some small way, how sorry he was, how much he'd come to care for the other. As he listened to Khan's final vows, as they made the last circle of the fire, he could see in Khan's eyes that Khan felt the same for him.</p>
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